Normally, the Positive People team are part of events that involve adults. However, as a team we have recognised the need to be innovative when it comes to identifying new people to support through the project.
Through discussion we recognised that the relationship with schools and parents who would benefit from our support hadn’t been investigated. To combat this the Cosmic team approach Hemyock School, where one of our member staff has close links, to create an event that would engage and enthuse the children and begin to develop the relationship with these parents.
A day of Stop Motion was created with the focus of engaging the children and creating a buzz around the school.
The day started with introducing the Reception and Year 1 Classes to the idea of Stop Motion by showing them a flip book and linking it to animation films they have previously seen. We then explain how they would use Electro Dough, which was magic, to create characters that could light up or making noises. Electro Dough is play dough with added salt which conducts electricity from batteries to light LEDs.
It was then time for the children to discuss their characters and the background the characters might be in. They all had fantastic imaginations and we had ideas such as Spiders that were driving cars, Astronauts in the sea and Dinosaurs eating each other. The children worked in teams to design and decorate their backgrounds and then create the characters out of dough or Lego.
Finally, with support from the Cosmic team they recorded enough pictures to create a short video with sound using the StopMotion app on the iPad. These short films were shown in an assembly the next day which was attended by parents.
The children were amazed when their films were finished and they could actually watch them. As well as the children, the day enthused the teachers. One Teacher said, “It was great experience for the children and reminded us about the ways we could use digital in our lessons.”
Here are some examples of the stop animation films produced:
Cosmic also demonstrated a green screen app, which the Reception teacher used with individual children and then chose one of the adults in the room that has previously said they didn’t like computers. By the end of the session she was using the app on an iPad and recording a Stop Motion video using green screen with the children. She was amazed by the ease of the app and explained that she was feeling more confident to use the app.
It will be important to continue to develop the relationship with the school and create some sessions for both parents and the children. Keep an eye out for an update on Robot Races.
If you would like to get involved or find out more about the Positive People project, please visit our website at www.positive-people.org.uk and go the ‘Contact Us’ section.
Positive People offers a lifeline to people who are not in work to help build confidence, skills and give a sense of hope for the future. Positive People is jointly funded by the Big Lottery fund and the European Social Fund.